Olivia Wilde, Joe Swanberg Toast 'Drinking Buddies' in Brooklyn

After last week's Los Angeles premiere, Magnolia Pictures hosted a very intimate Williamsburg soiree for "Drinking Buddies" on Aug. 19.

While sipping a beer before the Nitehawk Cinema screening, helmer Joe Swanberg explained that he hired d.p. Ben Richardson before seeing his work on "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

"I had an hour-long conversation with him and we were so on the same page about our philosophies about life, how to use the camera and how quickly we wanted to shoot," Swanberg said. "It really was a mind meld experience. On set we barely had to talk to each other. After a take we just looked at each other and knew what worked and didn't work."

Star Olivia Wilde said that she considered Richardson a member of the cast.

"When one of us was about to speak or move, he could sense it and cover that," Wilde explained. "He also become really emotionally involved in the scenes and I caught him crying once, which was great. But I really feel like without that kind of d.p. it would have been really difficult to make this film work."

"Until he gets way too famous to work with me I will always offer him the chance to shoot my movies," Swanberg added.

While the director wouldn't reveal pic's budget, he did say that it was "ten times" the amount he is used to working with.

"I think Olivia (Wilde) and the rest of the cast were a little more aware than me that this was a super low budget movie. I was like, 'Oh my god! Everything I ask for I'm getting! I'm the king of the world!'"